Displaying jewelry and other valuable small articles of merchandise is often problematic, since the theft of these items is generally difficult to detect. Accordingly, these items are usually placed behind closed showcases or counters. However, displaying jewelry and other valuable items behind these showcases is inconvenient for both the customer and merchant. A salesperson is required to supervise the counter every time a customer desires to personally touch or look over the merchandise. Hence, a display device is desired that would allow a merchant or seller to confidently display valuable items without fear of theft.
A number of devices have attempted to openly display jewelry and other valuable merchandise. U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,815 to Schock is directed to a gravity feed jewelry display system and dual-flange display card. The system comprises pairs of inclined slots spaced apart to slidably receive the display cards such that when a lower card is pulled out, a card situated above slides down to occupy the position of the card just removed. However, these cards are easily removable from the display, which leaves valuable articles attached thereon prone to theft. Also, the system uses specially designed display cards rather than standard jewelry cards, which presents a problem should the display cards become lost.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,442,942 to Cuminale is directed to a carded merchandise display apparatus. The apparatus uses display cards, which are snapped onto rungs disposed on central and rotatable side uprights. The uprights and rungs are positioned such that removal of display cards requires rotating the side uprights and sliding the cards along the rungs. Although this device reduces the possibility of theft, the device uses specialized snap-on lockable display cards instead of standard display cards or standard jewelry cards. Also, the device uses gears to rotate the side uprights, which are prone to wearing down, and requires an additional base member to avoid friction against the support surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,656 to O'Keefe is directed to a jewelry storage apparatus. The apparatus is a cabinet having a T-shaped reciprocating shelf with holes and hooks attached thereon for tangle-free and orderly storage of different types of jewelry such as necklaces and earrings. However, the cabinet is unsuitable for displaying articles of jewelry attached on standard jewelry cards. Direct display of jewelry without additional security measures is not feasible with this apparatus.
Other devices relate to display of jewelry display cards. U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,375 to Joyce is directed to a display card and assembly hanger. The assembly hanger is configured to receive a display card from below. However, the display card is also easily removable from the hanger, which presents security problems. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,699,901 to Cohen is directed to an apparatus for distribution and display of jewelry and other similar articles. The apparatus includes a slug interfit into a slug holder having a hanger. However, the assembly is easily removable, as in standard jewelry display cards and does not provide any additional security measures.
Still other patents are directed to assemblies and methods of carding or assembling display cards. U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,389 to Robertson is directed to an earring and display card assembly and the assembly formed thereby. U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,554 to Barbato is directed to a method of carding pierced earrings and the assembly thereby formed. The completed assembly for both patents include a display card having a main card portion and hanger portion. Although the main card portion includes clutches for receiving earrings and a fabric layer, the hanger portion does not include additional anti-theft features.
Other patents are directed to the jewelry display cards. U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,297 to Brandriff is directed to a hanger display card having a first panel and a hanger integrated with the first panel and containing a second panel. However, the display card is made entirely of paper, which is tearable and prone to theft. U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,025 to Feibelman is directed to a foldable jewelry card having connected front, intermediate and rear panels with the rear panel comprising a supporting means or hook portion. Although this jewelry card hides the rear of the front panel to prevent removal of the jewelry from behind, the hook portions does not have any additional anti-theft features that would prevent the thief to remove the jewelry card.
As apparent from the above, there are jewelry display devices and jewelry cards with a standard hanger portion. None of these devices, however, provide anti-theft features using jewelry cards with a standard hanger portion. Accordingly, there is a need for a display device to provide these features. There is also a need for a jewelry card with an improved hanger portion for reducing theft.